I Didn't Really Win Anything
by Zelkina Blackheart
Summary: Fandango was ill, and Rebel Wild got his space in the Royal Rumble. She just wanted a chance to prove herself. Except, because someone messed with the plan, she finds herself the winner. She's now in a new fight, against the pressure of her new status, those that are angry with who messed up, and those angry about her win in the first place. This is a fight she must survive.
1. Chapter 1

It was mere hours before the 2015 Royal Rumble. Hunter was with Doctor Chris Amann, the WWE's head doctor giving all entrants to the Rumble a final check over. He'd just given Roman Reigns the ok to compete, and was getting ready for the next person when that person came in, holding a tissue to his nose.

"Fandango...what the hell are you doing here, you look like death warmed up!" exclaimed Doc Amaan. Hunter had to agree with him. The man looked pale, and had sneezed twice in the space of time he had been in the medical room.

"You can't compete tonight, Fandango...I mean, jeeze, you've barely got the energy to keep yourself going!" Hunter said.

"I thought that might be the case, but I know you've got no one else. What are you going to do?" he asked before sneezing again. Doc Amann promptly passed him a fresh roll of tissue.

"Don't worry about it buddy, get your ass home and rest. I don't want to see you back here in the next two weeks." Hunter replied. He clapped Fandango on the shoulder and left the medical bay, wondering where he would get a replacement for the man. Some wrestlers already hat matches that that night, and would be in no state to compete. Others were n holiday or weren't scheduled to be there that evening. He couldn't expect someone to jump on a plane and be there in half an hour. He ran a hand through his hair, pulling out his phone and scrolling through the contacts list. One man short for the Royal Rumble would never do.

As he headed down a corridor towards catering, he saw a Diva sat on one of many equipment boxes. He recognised the black hair with the purple streak in at once. It was Rebel Wild, the most badass Diva in the locker room, or so they said. Hunter smiled. He remembered fondly when she'd first joined the roster three years ago. The first words to him were asking if she could have a chairs match at TLC. He'd wanted to laugh, but the eagerness in her voice made him stop. She wanted this shot so badly, he could see it in her eyes. He'd let her down gently, telling her they didn't have time for it in the schedule. Rather than disappointed, which he didn't doubt she was, she had simply smiled, nodded and with an "OK, maybe next pay per view!" she'd gone off to help someone else get ready. Now, ever pay per view had a visit from her, asking if she could have a shot. Always he'd had an excuse ready. Elimination Chamber? No time. Hell In a Cell? Too dangerous. No DQ match at Summer Slam? No opponent. He was, if he was honest, fast running out of excuses.

"Why don't you just tell her straight?" Randy Orton had asked one day after seeing one of these exchanges.

"I couldn't have myself responsible for killing her enthusiasm, Randy. Look at her. Look how eager she is to wrestle, to prove she can handle it all. I can't take that from her. I just can't do it." He'd replied. But after every time she was shut down, she would smile, and say that maybe next pay per view she would get her shot, before walking off to help someone, or get changed ready to be called out if needed. She was always there, no matter how often she was turned down, ready and able to fight on a moment's notice.

But now...he needed another wrestler...and she was practically begging for a chance. _To hell with it, _he decided_. Let's see what she can do._

"Hey Rebel!" He called, making her look up. "Come here a second."

"Sup Boss?" she asked, getting off the box she sat on. "Someone need something?"

"Yes. Me. Listen, I'm a man short for the Rumble. Fandango is ill with some virus. How would you like your chance to prove what you can do, and have his slot?" He barely held back a laugh as her eyes lit up.

"Are you kidding me? I'd love to! Just tell me what to do, and I'm in." she exclaimed.

"You know he's in at number one, right?" asked Hunter.

"Don't care. I'm in the Royal fucking Rumble. This is the highlight of my career. Ain't no way I'll ever headline Mania, this is the next best thing." she laughed. "Now what do I do in there? How long am I staying in for?" Hunter looked her up and down, cut off jeans, a black t-shirt with missing sleeves and neck. Bandanna round her head slipping slightly as she practically bounced up and down on her feet. He laughed and put an arm round her shoulders.

"Come with me, and we'll go over everything. Then we'll announce to everyone what's happening." He said with a smile.

The plan, as such, was simple. She was to go in, and do her best. She could try eliminate anyone she liked with the exception of Roman, Dean, Seth, Big Show, Rusev and Big E Langston, who were to duke it out till Dean was to be left victorious. Hunter refreshed her on who had rivalries with who, and who was to start a rivalry so that she could avoid unconsciously helping them out. Other than that it was literally a case of get as high up the countdown as possible. Rebel was aiming to at least last till number 10 came out, but Hunter said he had faith she would last till fifteen before getting ousted from the ring. He then took her to meet the other members of the roster, who were patiently waiting in the ring area for the COO and Stephanie, who'd joined them just as they were leaving.

"Nervous Rebel?" asked Stephanie.

"A little. More excited than nervous." She admitted to Steph.

"You'll be fine!" She said with a broad smile. "Besides. It's about time we had another Diva in the Rumble. You're joining an elite group, you know. Chyna, Beth Phoenix, Kharma."

"I'd like to chalk up at least two eliminations though," Rebel laughed, causing the other two to burst in to laughter too.

"Y'know, Rebel, I got a feeling you'll manage at least three." Hunter said, as they went in to the ring area.

Rebel could feel their eyes on her as she walked down to ringside next to the two of them, she could feel everyone look her up and down and her stomach flipped. Hunter paused at the bottom of the walkway and looked round at everyone with a broad smile. He went over the plan for the event once again, and everyone smiled and nodded, showing they knew what was going to happen.

"And that brings me to Rebel here. Fandango is ill, and won't be here this evening. Rebel will be taking his place. She's aware of the plot for the evening, she knows what's allowed and what isn't." He explained.

"Not to question your judgement, Hunter...but she's likely to get very hurt." Said Randy Orton. There was a murmur of agreement among the roster.

"She is fully aware of the implications of being in the Rumble, Randy. All I ask of you guys is to give her the chance." He replied. Rebel could feel them looking her up and down, wondering just who she thought she was that Hunter would willingly enter her in to the rumble. Muttering broke out among the roster, becoming loud chatter and Rebel stood awkwardly as several people made little attempt to disguise their unease with her entry. She looked up at Hunter a worried frown on her face. Hunter clapped her on the shoulder, told her he was sure she would be fine, and left her with the 29 others as the WWE Photographer came down. Hunter informed the photographer Rebel was to be in the Rumble and as such in the pictures.

So, to her dismay, she was placed front and centre in the group shot of the 30 entrants, Roman to her right, Dean to her left, Seth behind them so the three were stood much like old times, Big Show behind Seth with Rusev to one side, and Big E Langston the other, spreading out to other wrestlers. As she stood, trying not to throw up because of her nerves, Roman put a hand on her shoulder as did Dean, and both men gave her an encouraging squeeze.

"Nervous huh Rebel?" asked Seth.

"Yes, yes I am."

"Got a game plan?" asked Dean.

"No...should I have?" she replied. The photographer took a few more shots and the conversation stalled. It resumed once the photographer had the shot they wanted and gave the nod to say it was ok to go.

"Depends. If you're used to planning, plan. You'll end up winging it, anyway, everyone always does." He said.

"ah..yeah..I guess so..." she said as the group began to disperse. She froze as Kane came over to her, several wrestlers stopped to see what their conversation would be about.

"So. You're taking Fandango's place?" he asked.

"Yes." Rebel could feel herself shaking a little. Kane was terrifying without the mask as it was.

"You know there are some people who don't believe a Diva has a place in the Royal Rumble." He said, making Rebel furrow her brow. "I am one of two people who believe it is time for change. He'll be watching tonight with interest." He finished, before shaking her hand, and walking off.

"Did...did he mean..." she stammered.

"I think he did. C'mon Rebel, let's get you ready to fight." Said Dean, putting an arm around her shoulder and leading her away.

By the time the Rumble was about to start, the news that a Diva would be in the rumble spread like wildfire. Some backstage congratulated her and wished her luck. Some muttered a brief well done. Others sneered and laughed about the fact she would be lucky to reach entrant number three coming out. The crowds had been let on to the fact she was entering the Rumble, and Rebel had even done a small interview with Renee Young talking about it. So when Rebel went out at Number 1, the crowds were insane. They cheered for her, chanted her name, and roared as one almost as if she had won the Rumble itself. At number two was Heath Slater, and when he got down to the ring, Rebel wasted no time in trying to get him back out. After a brief scrap, she actually managed to do just that, taking advantage of his showboating to run him at and over the ropes. He looked up from the floor in disbelief as she leant on the top rope and gave him a little wave, before heading back to the centre of the ring, waiting for her next opponent. _Ok Bell, that's one. Be careful, and you might get two before you get thrown out. Two eliminations would put you in the record books,_ she told herself as she stood, a little crouched in the middle of the ring, waiting for her second opponent. She was so surprised when they came out, that she doubled over in laughter.

"It's Jamie Noble!" exclaimed Jerry Lawler at the commentary desk. "What did he have to do to get a slot in the Rumble?" Jamie came down to the ring, and Rebel watched as he took off his jacket and got in the ring.

"Really? You gotta be kidding me!" she exclaimed as he squared up to her, forgetting she was easily three inches taller. The crowd ate it up as she burst once more in to laughter, remembering no one took J&J security seriously. The pair were able to have a bit of a laugh in the ring for the crowds amusement, a scrap between the two filling time nicely before opponent number 4 came down, and both Rebel and Jamie froze when they saw Eric Rowan heading down the walkway. As he got in the ring, he stood barely a meter from Rebel and Jamie. As soon as the mask was off, Jamie turned and ran over to the other side of the ring. Rebel followed, about to grab him and push him back in front of Eric. Jamie was halfway up the ropes, so she shrugged, and just tipped him up and over. Jamie hit the floor, got up as quickly as he could and pretty much ran from the arena. Rebel brushed her hands together, walking backwards a little before turning and standing face to face with Eric. She jumped a little and smiled awkwardly at him, as he cocked his head on one side.

"Ok then...you want to fight, I'm already here...let's fight..." she said, getting in to a fighting stance.

As the clock counted down to the next entrant, Rebel couldn't believe her luck. Somehow, it had reached ten competitors, and she was still in the Rumble. Part of her wondered of everyone was going easy on her, but when Daniel Bryan came over and hauled her to her feet with an attempt to out her, she realised it certainly wasn't the case. He hit her, she hit back. He kicked her, she kicked back. He was two inches shorter than her, but it didn't make any difference to Daniel. He was a world renowned submissions specialist, and as the clock went down to five seconds for the next entrant, he knocked her to the floor and put her in the Surfboard submission hold he liked to use so much. Both knew it wasn't an attempt to make her submit, it was an attempt to make her weak. People around the ring noticed what he was doing to her, but no one came to her aid. It was, after all, every man for themselves in the Rumble, and most were busy trying to fight off someone else. But they also noticed that she did not cry out, that she would not make a sound. The countdown hit zero, and the crowds cheered as Roman Reigns came charging from the stage exit. He slid under the bottom rope and shoved Rebel and Daniel aside, so that the hold was broken.

"You ok, Bell?" he asked, helping her to her feet, the crows realising he was forming a temporary alliance with the Diva. She nodded, before shoving him aside and taking a nasty clothesline from Darren Young, knocking her to the canvas, the clothesline having been meant for Roman.

"Rebel just save Reigns' hide, King, that clothesline was meant for him!" Michael said from the commentary box.

"I know, but as good as it was of Rebel to shove Reigns aside, you gotta think, how much has that affected her chances of staying in? She's already been in longer than any Diva, has more eliminations than Chyna, Kharma and Beth Phoenix in past rumbles... and that clothesline from Darren looks like it's done some damage, the Rebel Diva is bleeding I think," King replied.

In the ring, Rebel was now flat on her back, Roman having been shoved in to Antonio Cesaro and ending up fighting with him. Something warm was trickling down her face, a hand under her nose showed she was bleeding.

"Urgh...damn it..." she said resisting the urge to use the swear word she wanted to. She pulled herself over to a corner and took a moment to rest, blotting her nose with the bottom of her t-shirt. A reff appeared at her shoulder, asking if she was ok, and Rebel waved him away, stating she was fine, just as Roman came over, hauled her to her feet, and unceremoniously shoved her back in to the fray. She almost laughed, realising the truce was over as she turned to face him. He'd helped her, she'd helped him, now he was probably going to out her. She blotted her nose once more, Roman now getting a full look at how badly she was bleeding. However, Roman got no chance to attack, as next thing she knew, she was being hoisted up in the air. With a shriek, she found herself being held upside down almost over the ropes...and the person let go.

The padded mats came rushing up to meet her, Rebel knew she was going to get very hurt, she had no time to adjust her angle so she braced for impact...but it never came. Hands grabbed her legs, she was inches from the matting, a camera was in her face as a referee next to her said she was still safe, and to her amazement she was hauled back in to the ring.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" yelled Jack Swagger at the person who'd been about to drop her clean on her head, Titus O'Neil. "You could have broken her neck!" Jack and Dolph Ziggler hauled her back over the ropes, helping her back on to her feet as they continued reading Titus the riot act. Rebel uttered her thanks. They could have just let her drop to the floor, or just eased her down. She leant on the ropes, gasping for air as the blood from her nose began to trickle slightly again.

"H asked us to give you a chance, Rebel. That was it. Don't waste it," Dolph said in her ear, and clapped her on the back, before going back in to the fray.

If she was honest, she didn't know how she was doing it. She'd chalked up a third elimination by eliminating Santino Marella, and was now acutely aware of the fact that one more elimination would manage to equal all previous Diva's in the Rumble. Chyna had entered two rumbles and got two eliminations, while Beth Phoenix and Kharma had one apiece. If she could get one more, even a joint elimination, she would equal them. She was also acutely aware that _everything_ hurt. Her nose was throbbing from Darren's clothesline, Randy Orton had viciously RKO'd her and Kane had treated her to a choke slam. If anyone thought she was getting away easy, they were sorely mistaken. But either they weren't fussed about her, or they were too preoccupied with dealing with the others in the Rumble to bother with her, because as more people got turfed out, she still remained in. Truthfully, Rebel didn't understand it.

But there was worse to come. After fighting for a moment with Sheamus and Tyson Kidd, who managed to eliminate each other, she turned to survey the scene. Big Show was fighting Roman Reigns to her left, in front of her, between her and the walkway Big E Langston fought Seth Rollins, and to her right, Rusev was fighting Dean Ambrose. She could only watch as Big Show eliminated Roman, Big E. Langston eliminated Seth, and to her horror, Rusev eliminated Dean. The look on his face said all too well Rusev knew what he was doing, he wanted the shot for himself. He'd bucked the plan, and had now put the Rumble in disarray. She knew both Big Show and Big E were both due title shots after the Rumble. And she wasn't even supposed to be there. Dean had run around to where Roman stood, staring furiously up at the back of Big Show, who was in turn glaring at Rusev. Anyone who was watching would put the evil stare Big Show was now giving Rusev down to past history, not the fact he was supposed to be looking at Dean Ambrose at this point in time. Rebel was alarmed, terrified and knew that she would be next on the list. She backed in to the ropes, unsure what to do. Outside the ring, Dean and Roman were talking in a huddle, before they turned and started taunting Big Show. Rebel realised, as they did so, they had realised what was happening, and were trying to make it look professional and more like it had been planned. As they taunted Show, he reached over the ropes and tried to grab Roman. He was leant so low that Rusev was able to run over, and push him up and over the ropes. Unfortunately for Rusev, it also put him in the same position, and Big E, who'd been about to charge at Rebel, or so it seemed, ran over and ousted Rusev from the ring. He landed almost on top of Big Show as Dean and Roman scarpered up the walkway, watching and looking back at Rebel and Big E, the only two entrants left. The elimination of Rusev had left Big E hanging upside down, his hands balancing himself on the ropes, legs barely over the top rope. He looked back through the ropes, his eyes locking with Rebel. He shook his head as the crowds roared their approval for what was about to happen. If she didn't do it now, it would look like she gifted him the Royal Rumble. As bad as the fuck up as had already happened was, no one wanted to have people saying they had been gifted the Rumble win. She took a breath, ran at the ropes opposite Big E, rebounded and drop kicked the man off the ropes and on to the floor. She had secured her fourth elimination, and with it, the bell rang signalling that she, Rebel Wild had won the 2015 Royal Rumble.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

It took everything Rebel had to hold it together enough to remember she had to look surprised, excited and overwhelmed. Her win of the Royal Rumble would have been a momentous occasion in the WWE, and as it dawned on her that she had really done it, the feeling of being in the shit once she got backstage lessened. The crowds chanted her name as one, she looked down at Big E as he stood up, put his hands on his hips and looked at her with half a grin on his face. He then got in to the ring, and walked over. Rebel froze, and tried not to panic. But she needn't have worried, as he simply held out a hand, shook her own, and congratulated her, before holding her hand up as the winner. He was followed by Dean and Roman, both congratulating her with hugs and handshakes, before she was left to enjoy the moment in the ring.

Once backstage however, her joy turned to concern as she hurried to find Hunter. Something had gone wrong, something had happened that meant she won, when she wasn't supposed to. She skidded round a corner to find Hunter in conference with Stephanie, Roman, Dean, Big Show and Big E, and worst of all, Vince Mc Mahon. Swallowing hard, she went over.

"There you are! That was fantastic, Rebel!" exclaimed Stephanie.

"what happened? Something went wrong, there was no way I was supposed to win that," she managed.

"We know. Rusev bucked the plan, Rebel. You aren't in the shit, don't worry." Hunter reassured.

"How can I not be? Dean was supposed to win that, not me." She said in a deadpan voice.

"You acted professionally out there, you all did." Vince replied. "Dean managed to clue Roman in straight away, the rest of you managed to follow through. If you'd have hesitated, if you'd have waited for Big E to get in, it would look like you gifted him the win. You were all perfect."

"Ok, so...now we need to engineer a situation where I give my headlining slot to Dean and we can all go back to how we were..." Rebel began, but Stephanie held up a hand.

"I wish we could, Rebel, I really wish we could. But there will be huge ramifications if we did that. I mean, you're the first woman to win the Royal Rumble. If we did that, if we took it from you...we'd be seen as sexist, behind the times, bias against women...everything we're not. I'm afraid you'll have to headline Wrestlemania."

"But...but everyone will expect me to go for a title...I can't go for any of them...the Diva title doesn't change hands after tonight till Wrestlemania, and that match is already set in stone..." Rebel spluttered. Everyone looked kindly at her as Hunter said he was sure they could figure something out.

"Well..I guess I'll go change...I'll see you at the arena tomorrow." She said, before turning and walking off.

"Hey Rebel," Big Show called, making her turn. "Congratulations. You deserved the win." She smiled, nodded and began to walk off to the locker room.

_It was a dream. A wonderful, amazing dream that never happened, I'm going to wake up this morning and it's going to be Sunday morning, the Royal Rumble is tonight, and...oh bollocks._ She woke up to her alarm playing the Sports News broadcast, and heard the words "_Rebel Wild, the first woman to win the Royal Rumble WILL be headlining Wrestlemania_," She wiped her eyes, and hauled herself out of the hotel bed. She turned on the TV, and was greeted with pictures of herself in the ring, tipping Big E out and winning the rumble.

"Oh for fucks sake, it's everywhere already," she groaned, turning over the channels to see it was the same on every major news station. Admitting defeat, she turned it off, and went to shower.

Going down to breakfast, she tried to keep a low profile, but it just wasn't happening. Everyone who'd supported her entry was coming over, congratulating and telling her well done. Even Paul Heyman came over with Brock Lesnar, or rather, following Lesnar, who sat down at her table. There was silence as Rebel and Brock ate, Paul eyeing the pair nervously as he tried to eat something himself. People around were watching carefully, aware of the powder keg that was ready to erupt at the table. As Rebel finished and stood, he put a hand over hers to stop her from leaving before he spoke.

"Look. I know, through the grapevine, you hate me for taking Undertaker's streak. It's understandable, a hardcore fan such as yourself has every right to be pissed at me. But I wanted to say two things. One, watch your back. People will be after your blood now, and those you called friends will turn on you. You'll need to keep your friends close, and enemies closer. Secondly," he added, letting go of her hand, "Congratulations. A win like that was well deserved."

"Th...thank you," she managed, before beating a hasty retreat.

She arrived at the arena, and still, people called to her and wished her well done. It felt wrong to Rebel, it felt like it was a huge mistake. Try as she might she couldn't be pleased about her win. Nothing felt right, and probably wouldn't feel right, till they gave her a direction of where to go. She decided to carry on as normal, and got changed, before heading to her favourite perch, a little way off from the gorilla where an empty equipment box was always stored. It was a great place to watch people as they came and went to their matches. She was in her own world so when Randy Orton came up to her, she only just noticed him.

"So, Rebel Wild, here you are. A Royal Rumble Winner. You join an elite class, Rebel. People will always know you as the person who won the 2015 Royal Rumble now. Even if it was a lucky win."

"I know I wasn't supposed to win. Rusev bucked the plan, it's his fault I guess..." she said, trailing off at the venomous smile he was now giving her.

"See, you're a little off track there. You could have, at any time, admitted you were in way out of your league, and gotten out. Jumped over the top rope, and walked away. But you didn't."

"What's your point, Randy? You've obviously got one." Rebel snapped, irritated.

"My point is this. You're lucky Big E went for Rusev not you. You got a lucky break. You'd better not slip up, Rebel, because when you do, and it's only a matter of time before you do, I'll be waiting to graciously take your slot. That poor Rebel couldn't cope under the stress of being headline act at Wrestlemania." He'd backed her up against the wall now, almost face to face. His arms pinned her either side, she could go nowhere. "When you fuck up, I'll take it all away from you, and you'll be left with nothing but memories." He gave her a smile that was so fake it made Rebel's skin crawl. "Don't be late, Rebel. Hunter will be looking for his new starlet." He added, before stepping back and walking away.

She waited till he had gone before rushing to the nearest bathroom, running a sink full of water and sticking her head in it to calm herself down.

"Fucking wanker...tosspot...absolute mother fucking c-"

"Yo, Rebel, you know this is the guys toilets right?" asked a voice, cutting off a nasty swear word as she turned to see John Cena, amused as he leant against the cubicle door.

"Oh balls." She groaned. "Sorry, I'm outta here, didn't notice, just needed a bathroom." She said, before heading out the door, John following behind.

"If I know you, and 'm sure I do, you only use that language when someone's upset you, and it's pretty bad to upset you enough to use the "C" word." He said, giving her the look she'd seen so many times with others. The "What's wrong, and who do i have to injure to make it better" look.

"John...how many people are genuinely happy I won last night?" she asked, avoiding the question.

"Well...honestly?" he asked, and Rebel could see him squirm a little trying to find a tactful way to answer. She nodded. John took off his hat and ran a hand over his head before putting it back on. "Well...it's down to three groups. Those that are genuinely pleased you won, that are happy to see the change, that it's about time you had your shot or that a Diva won the Rumble anyway. There's those that are pissed, for whatever reason, that you won. I dunno, a girl winning the rumble, some think it should have been them, or that a woman shouldn't have been allowed to win. I know it wasn't planned for you to win either."

"And the third group?" she asked as they walked.

"The third group don't give a damn either way as long as they still have a job, and get to do what they love." He said simply.

"And which group are you in?" she asked.

"Rebel...I'm hurt you even had to ask," he smiled, "The first of course. Bout time you got to show your true talents, not limiting you to pulling hair."

"Careful, don't let Nikki hear you say that," Rebel laughed.

"Ah she knows how I feel about it." John said with a wave of the hand. "Seriously though. Well done out there last night. What you did was nothing short of amazing. You got put in to submission holds, you got RKO'd, choke slammed, hell, even had your nose busted but you kept going. Your family should be proud of you."

"Yeah...let's not go there..." she said with a pained smile.

"Still won't talk to you?" John said in disbelief. Rebel shook her head.

"Nope. All it took was for me to cut off the financial aid, when she clearly could afford it, y'know, going on three holidays in a year etc, with the cash I was sending home for bill money, and bang, back to being the black sheep. She cut me off with a real shitty letter, a few abusive voicemails...you should hear the last one, it's vile...and now they all want nothing to do with me." Rebel said with a shrug of the shoulders. "you'd think, after Dad passing, and my brother passing, she'd be a lot nicer considering I'm all she's got left."

She should have realised sooner, Rebel thought to herself, that she would now also be thrown in to the Authority VS the Roster war as a result of her win. Of course it made perfect storyline sense, really. The Authority would love to have the new Royal Rumble winner on their side, for as long as that person and Seth Rollins would get along. New Champion John Cena, however, would love to have the Rumble Winner in his court too. Suddenly, storylines that had been nothing to do with Rebel were all over her. And as they finished rehearsals, she wasn't overly keen on them either. Hell, even Stephanie looked weary of the Authority storyline, and to Rebel's surprise, confessed as much when the two walked to the backstage area after they finished.

"I'll be honest, Rebel, I'm not sure how much longer they want to keep this up for. I can't tell you the amount of hate mail I get just for this." She said.

"Hate mail?" Rebel was surprised. Stephanie nodded.

"Oh yeah. Hunter and I get it by the bucket load. It comes with being a royal asshole on TV, Y'know?" She sighed and smiled a little. "But when people like you get the chance to wrestle and make such an impact...a few shitty letters is worth it. How are you feeling after yesterday? That was a lot of blood from that clothesline."

"I'm good...sore but good. And yeah it was a lot of blood." Rebel replied, spotting Dean Ambrose further up the corridor. "Would you excuse me? I need to speak to Dean."

"Oh sure...and Rebel...be careful. He's not been in a good mood today." Steph added, and walked off.

As Rebel approached, Dean's scowl was clear to see. He was sat on a crate, flexing his hands and cracking knuckles. Rebel hoped those knuckles weren't headed for her as she got nearer.

"Ambrose...Dean...are you ok?" she asked. She got no reply, so she carried on. "Listen. I know right now, you're probably really angry with me, and I'm probably the last person you want to talk to, and I get that. What I wanted to say was, I'm sorry. If there's a way I could give you my headlineing slot, I would do..." she trailed off as he stood up in front of her and looked her dead in the eye.

"I'm not pissed at you right now, Rebel." He said in a calm, level voice. Rebel frowned.

"You aren't? Why the hell not?" she asked, taken aback a little. Dean gave her one of his little smiles.

"It's not your fault that Rusev tipped me out. It's not your fault that you were still in the Rumble at the right time. No, this lays firmly at Rusev's feet, for making the decision to throw the whole plan away." He sat back down again, patting the crate next to him to say she should have a seat. Rebel did as asked and he leant back against the wall. "I get the impression you don't feel comfortable with the win, Rebel."

"No, I fucking don't." She admitted. "Month after month, I've begged for a chance to prove myself, to do something great and show the world what I'm capable of. I finaly get my chance, and everyone gave me the chance in the ring...then Rusev fucked up the plan. Now I'm in a position I shouldn't be in. Not because I didn't want to win, let's face it, who doesn't want to win the rumble. But I won off the back of someone else's misdeed, and someone else's misfortune." She looked to her left and found Dean watching, his face impassive, as she spoke.

"The buzz in the locker room is that Randy Orton didn't take too kindly to your win either." Dean said. She furrowed her brow at him. "Don't ask me how I know, all that matters is that I know." He said, referring to her encounter with Randy earlier. "stand your ground with him Rebel. Once he realises you aren't such a pushover, he'll back off."

"And if he doesn't?" She asked.

"Then let's just say I know of three Samoans, two of which are twins that would love to get a little crazy on his ass, if you get me, Us."

"O...I get you," She laughed.

Never had she been so glad to get through an episode of RAW. Rebel was in the locker room, just trying to sit and think, towel round her neck as her hair dried. First, she had been brought out by The Authority, or rather, by Seth Rollins, to advise her that she should really side with them, and they would ensure she got all the chances she wanted at future pay per views. Then John Cena came out, advising her that she shouldn't trust the Authority, they've already proved that they would turn their backs on her in a heartbeat if she screwed up. Seth and Cena argued, before Rebel told them both to shut the hell up and she would decide what side she was on, if she even picked one, in her own time.

Next, during a backstage interview with Renee, she had been interrupted by Dean, congratulating her on camera, and asking if she wanted to be ringside during his match.

"Why, are you looking for a chance to do me in too?" she had asked.

"No, I just wanted to know what it's like to be in the company of someone who's the right kind of unstable, like me," He'd replied, before walking off. Rebel had groaned about this in rehearsal, much to everyone's amusement. The idea of Dean being sweet on someone was well out of the park, they would have to be someone as nuts as he was, and in the creative team's mind, she was now the perfect fit. Once the pair were ringside, the match became a tag team match against Tyson Kidd and Antonio Cesaro. The win went to Rebel and Dean, showing the pair worked well together, and showed Rebel was well on form, and that the Rumble win had certainly not been a fluke.

Finally, at the end of Raw, she was called out. Steph and Triple H demanded she pick her side and pick it carefully, to which Rebel had replied she didn't respond well to threats, and picked Team Cena...if it was even a team anymore. This erupted in to a brawl between her and Seth, shortly joined by Daniel Bryan, Roman, Dean, Dolph Ziggler, Ryback and Eric Rowan. They were joined by Damien Sandow, The Miz, Wade Barrett, joining Big Show, Kane, Seth and J&J Security as Triple H and Steph got out of the ring. She ended up treating Seth to his own move, a kerb stomp on to the Money in the Bank briefcase, before John Cena came out and proudly declared it was no longer Team Cena, it was Team Rebel.

"Oh this is the biggest load of bollocks ever." She muttered under her breath, finaly deciding to towel off her hair and get going. She couldn't think, she wanted a drink, and knew as soon as she got back to the hotel, she would have to make sure everything was packed to head to where they were taping Smackdown the next day. She stuffed her things in her bag and left the locker room, before heading to the car park and her trusty motorbike. There was nothing that cleared her head better than a ride on her ride. Except when she got outside, her motorbike was gone.

"What the fuck?" she exclaimed, taking in the empty parking bay where her bike should have been. As she wheeled round, looking for it, thinking maybe it was in a different bay than she thought, she caught sight of a black limo. The door opened and a hand beckoned to her.

"Come with me, Miss Wild." Said a voice she couldn't quite place.

"Where's my bike?" she blurted, not sure what to say.

"It's back at the hotel. I've come a long way to see you." The owner of the voice leant forwards revealing who it was. "Or don't you trust me?" Rebel almost dropped her bag, realising who it was.

"With my life." She replied, going over and climbing in the limo, pulling the door closed behind her.


	3. Chapter 3

As it turned out, the bike wasn't back at her hotel for that night, it was at her hotel for the following night. The person in the limo had certainly got some clout high up, as they took her to her hotel a day early, her room had been upgraded to a suite, and had requested the limo take her to and from the arena that night. They also dispensed sage advice, on what to do now, how to deal with issues presenting the girl, and a heartfelt one to one chat that she desperately needed. It came out easier when she knew she could just step out the car, and that person would say nothing to any of the roster about what she had told them. She had tried to insist on paying her way, but the person in the limo would have none of it.

So arriving for Smackdown in the limo, she had a brief amount of time to get focused. To forget that she had won the Royal Rumble, and to concentrate on pretending to earn a smitten Dean Ambrose's trust. Or rather, let him earn hers. She shook her head, much to her companions amusement.

"You don't like this storyline do you?" he asked.

"No Sir, I do not. It's all sorts of wrong." She said, looking out the window at the traffic. "Dean's too unstable to keep a relationship. In and out of camera view. It just does NOT make sense. And hell…me? There's nuttier Diva's in the locker room. I mean, jeez, AJ Lee, Paige, Alicia Foxx…take your pick. Rebel is badass, she's tough…she's not Dean Ambrose unstable." Rebel said.

"Well, you two do work well together in the ring. Deny it if you will, but it's true." He said after a pause.

"Be that as it may…urgh I still don't want to do this storyline, it just screams wrong. To me anyway." She replied. A thought occurred, and she looked at her companion horror struck. "Wait…they won't make me kiss him will they? If they want this storyline…they wouldn't. Right?" He raised an eyebrow in an impressive manner, and Rebel buried her head in her hands. "Oh hell, they will won't they?" She muttered, much to her companion's laughter. "Tori is going to have a field day with this."

"Tori?"

"She's a close friend of mine, best friend I guess if you still have best friends as adults. She knows how much I hate doing this sort of stuff. She's going to drag this one out as long as possible."

Sure enough when Rebel called her friend once at the venue, after an initial scolding to never terrify her that much again, Tori found the situation hilarious.

"It's not funny, Tor." Rebel had groaned upon her friends peals of laughter.

"No, no it's not. It's freaking hilarious." Tori replied as Rebel put the phone in the crook of her ear while changing. "Seriously, what's the issue? Dean's a dish, every girl knows that. Well, every girl except for you."

"I happen to base a man on his deeds, rather than his looks, Tori. He's have to go to hell and back for me to be even worth my time. Besides, he's got enough people swooning over him, he doesn't need me on that list."

"Aww, is that the ice hard heart of my lil' Bel talking?"

"Piss off, I'm three inches taller than you." Rebel replied in disgust at her friends words.

"You gotta fall sometime, Bel. You know it, I know it. Someone's gonna break the ice barrier."

"Pffft. You're as bad as my cousin. Except she's more in your face. _You found a man yet? Why not? You're getting too old to have kids_." Rebel mimicked. The pair laughed. "Anyways. What you doing June? 8th to 15th? The fuss over me should be gone by then, so what do you say you come out here for a week? Get some Florida sun on that pasty skin of yours?"

"Ooooh low blow, you know the ginger in me makes me burn easy. But I'm in. I'll book the holiday off work tomorrow." There was the sound of scribbling pencil in the background as she wrote down the dates.

"Sweet. I got to go now, Tori. I'll give Dean a kiss from you, shall I?" Rebel teased.

"You can give him more than a kiss if you like, but I don't think it will mean the same coming from you. Laters Bel."

"Laters Tori." Rebel ended the call, and ran a hand through her hair. _As if Tori would offer anything remotely like sound advice,_ she scolded herself lightly. As she slid her phone back in her pocket, Rebel wondered what she should do now. Sure, her companion had advised caution. He had advised to go slow, find friend from foe before heading in a direction. But, Rebel reasoned, she had already found her friends and foes. Dean Ambrose, friend. Steph and Hunter. Friends, at least she thought they were. Randy Orton. Foe, without question. A voice cut through her thoughts, making her jump almost as much as the hand on her shoulder did.

"So, my Lady So Divine, who are you beating up tonight?" asked the owner of the hand, a mop of blonde hair being swept away from a cheeky grin. Rebel rolled her eyes.

"Knock it off, Ziggles." She said with a laugh. "And as for beating someone up…I have no idea. I_ think_ they were thinking of having me beat Ambrose to a pulp tonight, but I dunno. Not sure. Why?"

"Well, I hope you don't hurt your beautiful face." Dolph said with a pout. "Alright, I'll knock it off." He laughed as the pair began to walk to ringside.

"So, Show Off, what's up?" She asked. Dolph dropped his voice.

"Well, I came to warn you. Not only is Randy Orton on the warpath so is Rusev. I'm worried about you, Bel." He said with a pained expression.

"You still burning that torch, Ziggles?" Rebel said with a gentle voice.

"You know I do. And I know you won't ever return it. I get that now. But please…be careful." He implored, taking her by the hand and stopping her. Rebel looked at him, his blue eyes fraught with worry. She raised a hand to brush his hair away, and he closed his eyes, her hand brushing his cheek.

"Oh Dolph, I appreciate you care about me still, sweetheart…"

"Please don't call me that If you don't mean it Rebel. You know I'd give the world to hear you say it and mean it." He said, before pulling her hand away. "Just promise me…you'll be careful. You don't know what some of these guys are capable of, if they wanted you out of your spot, they would do anything." Rebel looked at him, the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion in his hoody and jeans, and gave him her word.

"But Dolph…you gotta have my back." She said. "You're right, I don't know how much they are capable of. But you do. You know a lot of these men better than I do."

"Just say the word, and I'll be there." He said, putting a hand on her shoulder in a comforting gesture. "And talking of being somewhere, don't we have rehearsals?"

The show was about to start. Rebel stood backstage with Seth ready to kick off the show with a banter between the two of them and John Cena.

"So. How's it feel being a winner?" He asked with a grin.

"Horrible." She laughed. "How the hell were you allowed to compete in the rumble after what happened between you, John and Brock?"

"Simple. I wasn't. They were going to cut me, but I went out anyway. Hunter was furious with me, but he told me he couldn't do anything."

"Why not? He's COO." Rebel laughed.

"Because he would have done the same thing all those years ago if it was him." He said with a wicked grin.

"And that right there is why the crowds still love you even after you decimated The Shield."

"Which a certain rebellious female will never forgive me for, I know," He said, continuing to grin at her.

"Oh come on, you guys knew how big a fan I was. That Triple Powerbomb was epic." Rebel protested as they watched the monitors nearby.

"Yeah, yeah I know how much you'd have loved to be the fourth hound." Seth waved her protests aside, making backstage members laugh as John Cena came over.

"And where exactly would I have stood for the powerbomb?" she asked, eyebrow raised. There was discussion between the three superstars on how it would be done, and what it would be called as they waited for the ok to be given to go out and greet the fans for the night. As the decision was made, Rebel was given the ok to head out and meet the crowds.

The crowds screamed and yelled, she saw posters bearing her name everywhere. She smiled, laughed, hi-fived and hugged as she got down to the ring. She had been in the ring for maybe a minute, saying thank you for the support of the crowd, how she didn't expect to be where she was now and it was all down to them. Then John Cena came down, the crowds again going nuts, as he re-iterated how he was impressed with her performance, a joke or two shared, a veiled suggestion she pick him for the Wrestlemania Headline slot. But before she could utter the next words of "I'll think it over" someone came out.

But, instead of Seth's theme ripping across the arena, the words "_I hear voices in my head, they counsel me, they understand, they talk to me_" echoed around them. Rebel and John looked at each other, and Rebel felt her stomach drop. Her companion in the limo had advised caution, and this was why. As both Rebel and John Cena stared up at the top of the walkway, they could see a proud, gleeful Randy Orton stood with arms raised, microphone in hand, at the top of the walkway. Rebel felt her heart sink even further. Vince was going to be pissed at this, without fail. There was no way Randy could get away with just…disrupting the nights running order. And where was Seth?

"Now, Rebel, you look a little alarmed to see me," He said in a voice that dripped with smug satisfaction. "Don't you worry your pretty little head, Sweetie, there's no need to be worried about me. Wait, I take that back. You got every reason to be concerned." He was now on the ring apron, and slipped between the ropes as John took two steps to the right, to stand in front of Rebel. The tension in the arena was on a knife edge, everyone believed any second now, John and Randy would start to brawl.

"What are you doing here, Randy?" asked John, with a narrow eyed glare.

"I came to see what all the fuss was about, some scrawny little whelp winning the first Rumble they entered does make big news. Now I've seen it…there's not much to worry about."

"Watch your mouth, Snake, before I cut off your head," Rebel said, a clear note of warning in her voice. The crowds cheered as she took a step closer.

"I'm sorry honey, the grownups are talking, go play with your dollies, there's a good girl." Randy added.

"You forget who you're talking to." Rebel retorted.

"As do you. I am the youngest World Heavyweight Champion this company has ever had. If I wanted to, I could snap your skinny ass in half like a twig!"

"What's your point, Orton, you obviously came out here to make one." John snapped, holding Rebel back with an arm.

"My point? My RIGHT is my point. I should be the one headlining Wrestlemania, not that pathetic excuse for a headlining act! I've been here longer, entered more Rumbles, hell, even had a headlining match on RAW, one thing YOU haven't. I demand you give me that shot."

"How about I give you a knuckle sandwich instead?" Rebel replied, before breaking free from John's restraining arm and delivering one of her two signature moves, Wild Thing. It was basically a girl version of a Superman Punch, except Rebel would often extend her fingers to literally claw her opponent's face. Scratch marks that often bled were the result, and the crowds cheered and screamed as Randy now sported a set of his own, two out of the four marks bleeding already as he stumbled backwards. Rebel advanced again, kicking out at Randy and not quite connecting as John pulled her back. Randy glared at her from the ropes as he felt his cheek.

"I suggest you leave, Randy. Before I let her go…and I can assure you, with my help, what we will both do to you…it's not gonna be pretty." John remarked, pinning a struggling Rebel in to the corner.

Getting backstage, Rebel turned to John.

"Sorry you had to see that, John…I never lose my cool like that…" She said, a hand running through her hair.

"Wild animals attack when threatened, Rebel," he said with a smile. "Especially by that C-"

"Don't use that word, you know I don't like it," she said, cutting off the swear word.

"You used it the other day,"

"I was pissed off the other day..." she replied with a raised eyebrow. "Damn it, where IS Seth?" she asked aloud as they began to walk back towards catering. They didn't make it to catering as they were distracted by the sound of someone screaming blue murder and swearing like a sailor, accompanied by hands hammering down on something. John and Rebel locked eyes.

"Seth," they both uttered, before heading towards the sound, a door that vibrated hard with each punch and kick. John pulled the chair from under the handle, jamming them in, and opened the door. Seth stood, red from shouting and screaming, a hand clutching the back of his head.

"What happened?" asked Rebel, brow furrowed and pulling his hand away to see if he was bleeding.

"Don't know. One second I was due to go out...then something hit me...then i come to in here." He said as John pointed towards medical, and Seth nodded gently.

"That snake," Rebel hissed, furious.

"Snake? What did I miss?" Seth asked.

"I'll explain as we walk," Rebel said with clenched fists.

It was clear that Randy had a grudge against her for winning the Rumble. Her friend in the limo had been right, she should have been more cautious. Rebel had left Seth and John at medical and was heading to get a drink from catering. She still had a match to go, and needed to get her mind off the altercation and focus. As she walked she found her path blocked by none other than Rusev and Lana. She tried to get past, but no luck as Rusev refused to move.

"You. You are a lucky, lucky Diva right now." Rebel said nothing, but stood ready to fight, sure one was coming. "Rusev took his chance, it didn't go to plan, but you were there weren't you? Ready to mop up the pieces and take the win. But you should know, Rusev does not give up that easily."

"Do I look like I care right now?" Rebel snapped, before getting in Lana's face. "Get the fuck out of my way, or that Smirnoff bottle up your ass will be the least of your worries." She pushed past Lana and carried on.

"I'd wish you good luck at Wrestlemania," Rusev said, making Rebel pause and glance back over her shoulder, "But I think you'd need the good luck making it _to _Wrestlemania in the first place."

"Screw you," Rebel spat, before continuing to walk off towards catering.

Randy's criticism that she had never had a headline fight came to an end that night as she found herself set up in the main match of the night. However, she was NOT impressed when she came to see who her opponent was.

"Well what do we have here?" asked a voice that made Rebel cringe and groan aloud. "Somehow this raggedy ass excuse for a Diva managed to win the Royal Rumble." The voice belonged to none other than Titus O'Neil. He came out, smarmy and over-confident, as he extolled every virtue he believed he possessed over her, before getting in the ring. Rebel took a deep breath, determined not to let him get the better of her.

Backstage, Hunter and Stephanie watched her off camera.

"Are we doing the right thing, Steph? Letting this fly?" asked Hunter as Titus mercilessly began to take down Rebel.

"I don't see that we've got a choice, Hunter. I mean, imagine the outcry if we did take this all away from her. Rebel might be glad about it, but you can be damn sure that the rest of the world won't feel that way. And down the line well, she'd regret it, let's face it, you know she would."

"I suppose you're right. I guess the best we can do is make sure she's prepared for whoever she faces at Wrestlemania." Hunter said, and the pair cringed as Titus shoved her through the ropes and out of the ring. "Not that I know who that should be."

"I know. Everyone wants to share that headline spot. But there's few who wouldn't just kick her ass, and not give her the best chance to make a match of it. There's some backstage who openly resent her win, Hunter. Dare I say it, but we may find ourselves protecting her. Dean said to me earlier he believes Randy Orton had collared her, and after what happened tonight, I'm inclined to believe he did."

"He's a stubborn bastard. And self righteous. Yeah, he might be the youngest, a three generation wrestler, but Rebel has everything going for her. Just because she's a Diva, that shouldn't count against her." Hunter rubbed the bridge of his nose, and shook his head as Titus sealed a victory by pinning the now bleeding Diva.

"You're right, it shouldn't. But for Rebel, unfortunately, it will." Steph replied, as the Diva limped from the arena.

She could feel blood coming from her nose, but tried to stand tall and ignore it as best she could. Walking back down the corridor, she saw several stars lining the walkway. Rusev and Lana, who gave her a triumphant smile as she passed. Konnor and Victor, the Ascension, staring her down as she walked past, determined not to make eye contact. The whispers became open taunts as she headed past them, saying she couldn't handle it, that she would fail at Wrestlemania, if she even made it. Rebel just walked on, past Tyson Kidd and Antonio Cesaro who joined in. Rebel wondered if Natalya had won, would Tyson be calling her a waste of space like he was currently calling her. Chief among the stars there was none other than Randy Orton. He stepped out and stood in front of her, blocking her way.

"What do you want Orton?" Rebel asked, annoyed. Randy looked at the now blossoming black eye, sucked in a breath and shook his head.

"Damn, that looks nasty, Rebel. You should get to medical." He said with an evil smile.

"You fucking think?" she spat.

"Yeah, I do. Let me get out of your way." He said, stepping to the side. Scowling, Rebel went to walk past, except she found a foot in the back of her knee, sending her sprawling down to the ground. She went to get up, but there was a foot on her neck, and then a hand in her hair.

"You think it's going to be easy, Rebel? You think I'm just going to allow you to waltz right up to Mania, and sweep the world away in some kind of dazzling victory?" He asked as his knee took the place of his foot. An arm came round her throat, putting her in a sleeper hold that certainly wasn't for the cameras. Rebel scratched and clawed at his arm as he cinched it in tighter, and whispered in her ear as she began to slowly fade out of consciousness. "I'm not going to make this even remotely easy. I'm going to make it hell, I'm going to make you wish you had never won that rumble." Rebel gasped for breath but she could no longer hold on. Slowly, blackness overtook her, and she passed out.


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you everyone who's been reading, reviewing and keeping up to date with this one! Bit of a short chapter, but sometimes, short is just right. PLEASE read and review! Zelks x

* * *

><p>When she came to, it was to someone shaking her shoulder and yelling for a medic.<p>

"HELP! I need a medic here, NOW! Rebel, wake up, please wake up..." the voice came slowly through the fog clouding her mind. She looked to her right to see someone's jeans as they knelt on the floor next to her. "Rebel, it's me, Roman, you ok?" he asked, helping her to her knees.

"Mother fucker..." she managed, massaging her throat.

"Yeah, you're good. What happened?" asked Roman, now gingerly helping her to her feet as footsteps sounded and Triple H followed by Doc Amaan came haring round the corner. She decided against telling them the whole story. Rebel was certain that Dean was right, that Randy would back off once he knew she wasn't going to back down.

"Didn't see what happened. Someone took me down and put me in a nasty ass sleeper as I was on my way to see the doc." She replied, leaning on Roman more than she wanted to for support. He put an arm round her waist and put her other arm over his shoulder to steady her as they stood there, before Doc Amaan decided she should get to his medical room, and he could make a better assessment there.

"I'll kill the slimy little..." Roman began.

"No," Rebel gasped, wincing with pain as she cut him off. "Whoever he is, because it was certainly a guy, got issues with me, no one else. I can deal with it. Anyone dealing with it on my behalf would just make it worse for me." She missed the concerned look that the three men shot each other as she massaged her throat.

"I'll give you a ride to the hotel." Roman said.

"I'm alright," she began, but the look Roman gave her told her he was not going to argue, and she would be getting the ride with him if she wanted to or not. Rebel rolled her eyes, not overly pleased. "Fine, fine I'll get a ride back with Roman. Jeez." She scowled.

"And you'll have a full check-up before your next fight," Hunter said. "Doc, take her to medical, and get her looked at and mopped up." He added. Rebel walked of with a scowl, not happy with the situation, as Hunter turned to Roman.

"Randy. No doubt about it." Roman said, as if he was reading the COO's thoughts. Hunter nodded.

"Can't do a thing without proof. And Rebel is saying nothing, she doesn't want the hassle either."

"She gonna make it to Wrestlemania, H? If he carries on, she's gonna be in bad shape." Roman voiced as they began to walk off towards the car park.

"I know, Roman, believe me I do. But I can't act on it if she won't say anything, can I?" Hunter replied, shrugging his shoulders.

Rebel awoke the next day to the sound of a phone ringing. It was eight am, who the hell was ringing her this early? Everyone on the roster knew not to wake Rebel before 9.30, at the latest. She was not a morning person. It wasn't till she looked at the phone she saw who it was. Knowing the phone would continue to ring if she didn't answer, Rebel took a deep breath and answered.

"Hi. What do you want?" she asked.

"Rebel, sweetie, is that any way to talk to your mother?" the saccharine voice came from the phone almost making Rebel want to puke. As far as Rebel was concerned, this woman was mother only by the fact she had given birth to her. Nothing more.

"Whatever, what do you want, Mother?" she asked in a voice like ice.

"Oh, just to see how my girl is after winning the Rumble on Sunday. I was so proud of you, do you know, I can't wait to see you win at Wrestlemania. Of course, I know you want me to be there for you, don't you, so I'll..."

"No." Of course, that's what she was after, she realised as a glance at the clock made her decide going back to sleep was a lost cause. Rebel put the phone on speakerphone and proceeded to get out of bed and dress.

"Sorry?"

"Not now, not ever. You think after that shitty voicemail you're getting a free trip to the USA outta me, so you can make MY big day all about you? Not a chance in hell." Rebel said, annoyed.

"How dare you. You ungrateful bitch, after everything I've done for you…"

"Which is what, huh? As soon as I was old enough to look after myself, you fucked off out at every opportunity. Fuck, I was washing my own clothes at nine, making my own lunches. You only want something to do with me because it's for your personal gain, this is how it's always been. Since I stopped your gravy train, right before Christmas, you've been waiting for a chance to lure me back in, haven't you? Well, it's not going to work." She said, as she picked up the phone once again, now in her jeans and a t-shirt.

"You jumped up little slut! How dare you deny me what I deserve! You'd be nothing without me, you hear me? Nothing!" her mother yelled, at which point Rebel simply hung up, and pocketed her phone.

"Whatever bitch." She growled, as the door knocked. A quick glance at herself in the mirror in case it was a fan, or even someone remotely good looking, a quick hand through her hair, and she opened the door.

Rebel wasn't sure who she was expecting to see. Roman, maybe, or Triple H. She found herself pleasantly surprised, however, when she was confronted with Dean.

"Hey Bell," he smiled, leaning against the door frame in a cocky manner, giving her the full blast of his smile, one that had driven many a woman insane.

"Sup Ambrose?" she asked.

"Well, couldn't help overhearing your conversation with Mommy Dearest….figured you could maybe use a sparring partner." He said with a raised eyebrow.

"_Sparring partner_? Yeah right, you just wanna touch me up." She said with a grin to match his own.

"What, and you don't wanna do the same?" he asked, gesturing to himself. "This fine specimen is just aching to be felt up, you know you wanna," he said, smiling again.

"Breakfast first." She said, relenting with a shake of the head. "Then I can kick your ass."

"I just wanted you to grab it, I didn't say anything about kicking it." Dean said with a mock pout, and Rebel laughed. "But I suppose I can let you try it, just this once."

At the arena, Hunter watched as Dean and Rebel threw each other about the ring. She wasn't taking any of his moves lightly, and was throwing just as much back at him as he threw at her. He pondered giving Dean the slot as her opponent for Wrestlemania, at least then he would still headline. And Rebel would enjoy the fight just as much as Dean would. As he watched them fight, Roman came over and sat by Hunter.

"How's the locker room today?" asked Hunter, and almost laughed at the reaction on Romans face. "That bad?"

"Big Show and Titus nearly came to blows over their differing views about Rebel's worthiness of headlining. So yes, that bad." Roman replied, as in the ring Dean found himself in a Yes Lock, Daniel Bryan yelling out that the use of it wasn't fair, a smile on his face as he did so. Roman smiled and turned to Hunter, who was watching the pair intently.

"So, boss, do you have an opponent in mind? For Mania?" he asked. Hunter rubbed his eyes with a thumb and forefinger, giving the impression the matter was giving him headache enough already.

"Well, truth be told, I'm not sure. I mean we can't exactly pick her an easy one, we'll be accused of favouritism."

"Yeah, that plus she'll kill you. Roman added. Hunter laughed.

"Yeah, there is that," he replied as Dean threw Rebel in to a turnbuckle. He watched as she stuck a middle finger up at Dean and ran at him again.

"Randy wants it bad, maybe giving him the shot he wants would calm things down ..." Roman ventured, getting an incredulous look from Hunter.

"You mean I should reward his bad behaviour by giving him what he wants? Really? Listen to yourself, Roman. I do that, and then what? Anytime someone wants something, they throw a temper tantrum and expect me to roll over and play dead. Not happening." He said, shaking his head at the younger man's suggestion. Roman nodded, as if he had been expecting that kind of response from Hunter. He decided to try a different approach.

"Well, if not from a behavior point of view, from a concern about Rebels safety point of view. You know and I know, she won't say anything, but it was Randy who attacked her after Smackdown. You know what Randy's capable of and he's not gonna quit." Roman replied with an open hand gesture towards the ring where Rebel and Dean were now trying to counter each others submission holds. This time, Hunter nodded in agreement.

"Roman, that's a valid point of view, don't get me wrong. yuI'm as concerned for Rebel's safety as you guys are. But if I gave in, that would only encourage him to attack others. Imagine he wants a title shot? He attacks the title holder until I give in. I won't do it. If Rebel tells me it was him, I'll deal with it, my way. Until then, I am not caving in to his temper tantrums." He said. Both men paused their discussion to watch the two finish their game of submission and counter tennis, and turn to see Jimmy and Jey Uso clamber in the ring. There were brief handshakes, and the new pair faced off tag team style against Dean and Rebel, giving them a chance to hone their craft. Not that Rebel and Dean didn't already have some kind of chemistry, that much was clear. But every new tag team pairing needed a practice session. Roman once again broke the silence, his concern for Rebel paramount.

"So what do we do in the mean time? She's going to get hurt, and badly if the way he's begun is any indication. Don't look at me like that. I'm just concerned for her, Hunter, there's a lot of guys in that locker room who'd do anything to take her down and rob her of what's the biggest fight of her career." He said, catching the raised eyebrow and slight smile of the older man. Hunter gave him a look that said he did not believe Roman in the slightest, but carried on as if he did.

"Well, I guess if she refuses to name names, then we have to make sure someone sticks close to her. We can't give him the chance to make her life hell, and he's gonna damn well try his best, if he wants this shot that badly. And yes, I know, she's going to hate the thought of someone babysitting her, so we're gonna have to be subtle." He paused, looking round at the wrestlers currently dotted around ringside. He then laughed and shook his head. "Fuck, what am I saying? Do we have anyone around here that can even spell subtle?" he asked, gesturing to the wrestlers gathered, some of the largest on the roster among them. Kane and Big Show, Mark Henry, and some of the other wrestlers gathered, in Hunters opinion, were about as subtle as a dig in the ribs with a blunt spoon. Roman scratches his beard, seemingly deep in thought, as his eyes settled on Dolph Ziggler, watching on from ringside.

"What about Ziggler? He's head over heels for her, he could look out for her...second thoughts no, last time those two had to spend more than a week together she nearly clocked him one," Roman said, remembering the incident when she had agreed to share rooms for a few shows. Hunter laughed too, remembering the incident's many attempted romantic gestures from Dolph that fell flat in their faces.

"And I nearly spewed my guts. That man really doesn't do subtle...or romance. He does schmaltz and sickly really well though." Hunter said, his smile increasing at the memory of Rebel taking some chocolates Dolph had secretly left her and offering them to him, as she didn't like them, later in the evening. He'd been crushed, but bounced back in typical Ziggler over enthusiastic style. Last Hunter had heard, he wasn't giving up, he was just biding his time. The two men batted names between each other of someone able to a) keep an eye on Rebel, and b) not get his ass kicked by Rebel at the same time. John Cena, Daniel Bryan, Jack Swagger and more were suggested, and turned down. Roman had sat quiet in thought, watching the four in the ring, when he had an idea. "Ok, hear me out…dare I say it, what about the Shield? Off camera, of course she likes all of us, we get on well, none of us like her romantically...to my knowledge anyway," Roman added hurriedly as Dean and Rebel shared what he considered a much too long hug for two people who were just friends. Hunter scratched his own beard, nodding slowly.

"You know, that might be our best option. I mean, there are 3 of you, you could rotate, it means less subtlety would be required ... and she may be less inclined to throw you lot out of the nearest window," he said with a dry chuckle. "Fine, you want the job, it's yours." Roman responded with a chuckle of his own.

"You know, she's not gonna like it much. I doubt Rebel even let babysitters tell her what to do, much less three grown men trying to protect her." He said. Hunter held his hands up shaking his head.

"That, my friend, is your problem." He said, and both men laughed. "Seriously though, if it gets too awkward, let me know, and we'll try for plan B…and I have no damn clue what that is, maybe Steph would have a thought or two on that." Privately, as Roman bid the man goodbye and went to join Dean, Rebel and The Uso's in the ring, he hoped to god she did. Because if he knew Rebel as well as he thought he did, she was NOT going to be impressed with the three men following her every move. But then again, with Randy as pissed off as he was, what choice did they have?


End file.
